Hit Wave II

Hubbard's sound design is as carefully arranged as his visual collages. In Hit Wave II, his signature use of foley sound is foregrounded by a dynamic layering of discrete tracks of voice, music and incidental noise. The subject is a magician (Magical Ramón), who in voice-over demonstrates how he pulls off tricks, though the rupture of sound and image reveals nothing: the on-screen action does not follow his explanations. The presence of the magician, costumed in tailcoat and sparkly vest, shuffling cards and unfurling rolls of construction paper, is paralleled with glimpses of Hubbard in a spray-suit and protective mask, launching streaks of paint with the gestural intent of Jackson Pollock, as captured in Hans Namuth's film of that artist at work. By featuring Magical Ramón, Hubbard alludes to his own interest in sleights of hand, and also to an artistic strategy of obliqueness.